Ascensions Gate

A world in decline due to the petty squables of the gods needs heroes to return it to glory.

Letters to Home 8

2

NOV/12

Dearest Lucille,

I am sorry it has taken so long to write, I’ve been on a massive campaign! It started weeks ago when we met Maldrian, an elven noble from the southern Elf Kingdom. He explained to us that his brother Callindis was a high ranking member of the Blades of Aramatheus. Callindis had been charged with recovering a dread artifact: the Iron Heels of Lord Goreseth. I remember your family telling us dark stories of this wicked man when we were young. The Heels, as well as other pieces of Goreseth’s armor, are rumored to have great magical power—- power that may draw out the evil in a person and Prince Telleus is trying to gather the various pieces of the brutal warlord’s armor! Maldrian explained that while in the jungles, Callindis was taken with a curse of lycanthropy. Prince Telleus would never allow a werewolf in his ranks, so he had dispatched assassins to kill Callindis. Maldrian commissioned us to recover the Iron Heels of the Conqueror and slay his brother, so that his brother would avoid a torturous death. We agreed to recover the artifact so Prince Telleus would not have such an item of power.

We journeyed to the jungle fortress of Callindis and fought through his forces. Indeed, the cursed soldier had infected most of his men with the moon curse. We purged the jungle of these murderous creatures and faced Callindis. His bigotry was still intact, but his bloodlust greatly magnified and we had no choice but to fulfill Maldrian wish and slay his brother. We also uncovered information about the Iron Heels—- as well as some darker knowledge that I will explain later in this letter. We had learned that the Iron Heels were en route to the Prince, when the convoy was attacked by the Van-shinn, a group of desert pirates.

We journeyed to the Har-Azer Desert and found the sandship. Exploring the butchered remains, we found some treasure, but were unable to locate the evil artifact. We deduced that they must have been taken back to the Van-shinn’s lair and we journeyed there. Along the way we faced a silt horror, an evil squid creature that shifted through the sands like it was water! We defeated this beast and found the Van-shinn’s cave lair. The tribe lived in a series of caverns under the sand, including women and children. But there were slaves that had been pressed into service against us. Some of my companions argued that we shouldn’t try to spare slaves that fought against us because they had little hope of escape, but I argued against such an act. A little hope is better than no hope, and heroes shouldn’t make a cold decision about who lives and dies. Heroes fight against oppression, and try to save innocent people. Heroes should embody hope. I hope that I do. We fought our way to the demon the Van-shinn had been worshipping, discovering her to be an elder brown dragon! We chased the wyrm, a beast named Nafell, from her lair to the desert sands above and faced her in a terrible combat. We defeated her and I recovered the Iron Heels of the Conqueror. The Van-shinn approached us and I demanded them to back down. Out of fear of us, they did and swore allegiance to me. We took the dragon’s treasure and I demanded that they free all of their slaves, which they did. I hope you do not question me, but I left the raiders a large portion of gold. I feared that we were taking their resources, and there were women and children. A true hero shows mercy to those bested whenever able. I think that’s what Lamont would have done.

We returned victorious, but it was not without a massive price. Perhaps this is why I didn’t write you sooner, it’s been difficult to think about and I’m frightened. Callindis bit me savagely in our fight with him and he has passed his moon curse to me. It hasn’t taken hold of me fully, but I feel bloodlust boiling up inside me. I find myself angry at my friends, almost coming to blows with them. I think if the Van-shinn had resisted I would have started attacking them. We’ve done research, it is a slow disease and I am fighting it. I’ve been dreaming strangely, I do not know if it is connected to this. I need to find a werewolf lord to remove the curse. Fear not, I think I’ve found a way.

The dark knowledge that we’ve found is that the Blades of Aramatheus may be building towards a massive attack on the Concordant! Worse still, there is evidence that my kin are aiding them heavily. A great shame has befallen me again that my family is aiding these vile murderers. With that, we are journeying to the Concordant to find out what they’re up to and stop it if we can! There is also a werewolf lord located in the Concordant in the city of Vandale, a descendant of the Wulfen Brothers of legend. Perhaps he can help me.

I will be across the desert soon, but I do not know if it is a good idea to see you. I think you should stay with your cousin or somewhere else, perhaps the temple of Saint Balthasar, for I feel my brothers may target you when they realize I’m coming for them. I will continue to write to you. Please be safe.